The Power of Aum

Aum Christ, Amen; Aum Christ Aum. Aum Christ, Amen, Aum Christ Aum.

—Festival of Light blessing song by Swami Kriyananda

It was 2004 and my life was busy and full. I had a great job as a Tech Support manager, I sang in the choir, practiced Aikido 5-6 days a week and enjoyed all the Ananda events. Life was good and fun!

Then my doctor ordered a routine mammogram and when the results came back it showed spots of calcification in my right breast tissue. This had never happened to me before. Because of this change in my test results my physician recommended that I schedule a biopsy. She advised me to see a particular surgeon in the downtown Portland area, so I made an appointment but could not get in to see the surgeon for several weeks. 

In the meantime, my mind was actively presenting to me all kinds of “what if” scenarios! It wouldn’t shut up! What if the biopsy shows cancer? What if you can’t take care of yourself? What if there are other problems they find? What if, what if, what if! Believe me, you can’t stop a mind that is chugging down the train tracks like this. 

But I knew from my spiritual practices that this was the time to turn things up a notch. Since I’d found the practices of Mantra and Japa to be super helpful in other situations, I tried out a few Sanskrit healing mantras to see what might work.

Interestingly the mantra I found that generated the most calmness was the Aum Christ, Amen chant that we sing every Sunday in the Festival of Light. So, I started chanting it out loud when alone and mentally when I was with others. I kept that chant going in my mind from the time I woke up until I went to sleep at night. If I woke in the middle of the night, it was repeating, and if it had stopped, I started it again. I clung to that mantra like a drowning person to a life preserver. 

A couple weeks later while driving to the surgeon’s office I continued singing the chant. It was so powerful that when I walked into the doctor’s office and was greeted by the receptionist, she looked up at me with astonishment and asked: “How tall are you anyway?” I truly felt tall and invincible! I suspect that she was seeing the light of my aura boosted by the changes from the mantra. I looked (and felt) like a large powerful being.

When I got into the room with the surgeon I peppered her with questions. She was kind and very forthright. We managed to get through a quick exam and all my questions. She looked at my mammogram with me. She examined all the little spots on the film and pointed out the unique shape of the spots. She said that “cupping” is the word they use to describe this shape. In her experience when she would see cupping on a mammogram invariably it turned out to be nothing to be concerned with. But she still wanted me to have the biopsy.

At that moment something in me released! I knew that nothing was wrong. I knew they would not find any evidence of cancer in the biopsy and then left her office.

I drove from her office directly to the Aikido dojo. As I drove, I noticed that the weather had turned very unusual. The clouds had gathered together as if they were going to leap over Beaverton and dump a load of water. And the light turned a strange orange color. I’d never seen anything like those cloud formations. They were roiling and rolling in very strange ways. And they were talking to one another. I could hear them! Not in words but they were definitely communicating with each other and me. What an amazing state of consciousness that chant generated. 

Of course, I still had several weeks to go before the biopsy would be done. So, I kept repeating the chant day and night. And as you might expect from the story above, the biopsy revealed there was no problem. Whew!

Since then, I’ve discovered that the Aum Christ, Amen chant is even more useful. Have you ever walked out of a store with an ear worm* going through your mind? It might be something like “She loves you yah, yah, yah!” or some other song that kind of bugs you and refuses to go away. Just start chanting Aum Christ, Amen and it will banish the ear worm back to where it came. 

Swamiji discusses the concept of “Aum Christ Amen” in his teachings. He highlights that Aum is the great sound behind all manifested creation, which remains constant even if all other sounds disappear. He describes it as the faithful and true witness, akin to hearing the motor of a car, indicating the divine power at work in the universe.

I can personally attest that continuously chanting Aum Christ, Amen will bring you inner strength, uplift your consciousness and grant you calmness so you can face any situation with joy. Give it a try sometime.

Joy and Calmness to you!

Saranya